An Unexpected Happiness
by flamingred08
Summary: Five years after the fall of Ozai, Katara finds herself in a new chapter of her life. Can Zuko help her out of her funk? Rated M for later chapters.
1. The Anniversary

**Author's Note: **I do not own anything except the plot. Enjoy. Please Review!

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Things with Aang had not ended well. She figured out pretty quickly after it ended that while he had thought he loved her, what he had felt was just an unexpected and overwhelming sense of protectiveness for her. After all, she was the first girl he had seen after waking up from the iceberg. He cared about her, to be sure. But he didn't love her. Not in the romantic sense, anyway.

He had broken it off with Katara just a little over four years into their relationship, and she was absolutely heartbroken. She had not seen it coming. He wasn't ready to settle down anywhere, and he really couldn't settle down, being the Avatar and all. But he hadn't even talked to Katara about it. He made up his mind on his own and figured that as soon as he made the decision, that was it.

For the next few months, Katara was a wreck. She had finally trusted someone completely. Aang was the one person who wouldn't hurt her; he had promised to never hurt her. So how was possible that she was in so much pain?

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It was the 5th anniversary of the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai. Normally Katara spent this special holiday with Aang, but not this time. He was off somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, and she was in the Fire Nation Capitol, being the newly appointed Water Tribe Ambassador.

She was drowning her loneliness in a glass of Fire Spirits and was about to buy another when she heard a gruff male voice say, "Two more of whatever she's having."

"Zuko!" Katara said in utter surprise. It had been months since she'd actually seen the Fire Lord. Her role as Ambassador kept her in the Fire Nation but she dealt a whole lot more with Zuko's advisors than with him. "I'm surprised to see you out and about tonight."

Zuko gave her a smirk. "I may be Fire Lord, but even I like to celebrate the downfall of the Fire Nation rule with more than just polite smiles and congratulations."

It certainly was good to see her. He had missed her laughter, and her cooking, to be honest. The fire nation was too tightly wound, too orderly, too….serious. His uncle often told him that he needed to be careful or he'd end up as serious as his advisors if he didn't see some of his friends. Which is exactly why he was not in the palace tonight.

The bartender brought their drinks and said, "The fireworks are about to begin if you're interested." He pointed at the glasses, "I'll keep these cold for you if you'd like to go outside and watch."

Katara smiled. She had forgotten all about the fireworks in her misery. She turned to Zuko and said, "What do you say, Fire Lord?"

"I'm just Zuko to you, you know that," he said quietly. He gave Katara a little smile that made her feel like it was hiding a secret. Her face felt hot, suddenly and she wondered if the Fire Spirits were finally getting to her.

"Well, then Zuko, what do you say to watching the fireworks with me?" She ignored the fluttering feeling in her stomach as he nodded, and they set down their drinks to head out to the courtyard.


	2. Fireworks

**Author's Note: Sorry this took so long and I'm really sorry it's so short. I've been really busy all of a sudden, but the next chapter will be longer, I promise! For now, enjoy this little dabble.**

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The courtyard looked out over the bay. Katara and Zuko made their way to the balcony where they would have the best view. It was dimly lit with torches and was scattered with couples and groups of friends all celebrating to themselves; no one would bother them here.

At this point, Katara knew that this was a bad idea. Her head was starting to spin from the alcohol and Zuko looked amazing under the glow of the fireworks. She tried not to look at him and turned her attention to the sky. This also proved to be a mistake, as at that moment, a particular firework exploded to reveal the shape of the Avatar; of Aang.

Zuko watched her smile disappear. He walked and stood behind her, a comforting hand on her shoulder. It was here he noticed a scar on her neck. It started just below her right ear and made its way down toward her back and disappeared under her tunic. A token of the war. She was so beautiful, and the scar only reminded him of the sacrifices she made for the greeter good. He traced it with his fingers and felt her shiver.

Katara stared out over the water. What was he doing? Touching her like that. She was likely to do something stupid in her current state. Without even realizing it, she leaned into Zuko's touch. Encouraged, he lowered his lips to the scar. Katara froze, but another kiss made her relax. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, exposing more of her neck to him. Zuko lowered his hands to her waist and just as she was about to give in completely, Katara remembered just how much alcohol she'd ingested.

She snapped her head back up and said, "I have to go. I'm sorry." And before Zuko could even ask what was wrong, she had disappeared.

"Oh I am such an idiot."


	3. Enter Uncle

**Author's Note: I am so so so so sorry it has taken me so long to update. Here is a slightly longer chapter for your pains! I'll try to update more often, but my work schedule is crazy and I never work regular hours...sorry!**

**As always, I own nothing but the plot...**

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The next couple of weeks were a whirlwind for Katara. She tried to just focus on her work but he kept creeping up into her thoughts. Zuko was so frustrating! His touch had felt so good but she had been drunk! If he really felt something, then why hadn't he approached her when she was sober? Or maybe he was drunk, too and hadn't thought anything of it? Or perhaps he was embarrassed and thought she was mad at him and that's why he hadn't approached her since that night? Or what if she had insulted him by leaving without explaining herself?

Or maybe she was over-thinking things.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Uncle Iroh!" His voice was most welcome, and she told him to come inside her chambers.

"It's so good to see you, General." She waved him to sit near the fire with her. "Will you have some tea?"

"You know I could never say no to tea my dear. And how many times must I insist you call me Uncle?" Katara shook her head as Iroh chuckled. The old man loved her dearly, she knew.

"Alright, Uncle. Not that that I don't love your company, but was there a reason you came to see me today?" He nodded and picked up a cup of tea, stalling for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Katara, my dear, you know I think of you as family, yes?" She nodded and so he continued, "You've been avoiding Zuko like the plague and I want to know if he's done something to hurt you. Because if he has, he needs a stern talking to."

Katara was shocked. "Have I really been so obvious?" Iroh chuckled and gave her a knowing smile. "Well, to be honest, it's not that he's done something…wrong, per se but we've had a bit of a misunderstanding and I don't know how to approach it. I think I may have insulted him unintentionally but I'm embarrassed to bring up what happened." She felt her cheeks burning as she remembered the feeling of Zuko's lips against her scarred neck.

Iroh was quiet for a moment, watching Katara's color change as she squirmed beneath his knowing gaze. "I see." He got up to leave. "I think I understand. If I were you, I would talk to my nephew. It seems to me like your friendship should be more important than a little misunderstanding." He left her sitting there with her thoughts and closed the door behind him. He needed to talk to Zuko before he confirmed his suspicions, but he Iroh was quite confident that there was something budding between his nephew and the Water Tribe Ambassador.

Zuko was going crazy. Katara was avoiding him. To be honest, he was avoiding her a little as well. She probably hated him and he couldn't blame her. What had he been thinking? He couldn't even blame it on the alcohol. He hadn't even had that much to drink that night. No, his actions were entirely his own fault and now Katara may not ever want to see him again.

His uncle had stopped by to see him earlier, and had encouraged him to make amends with Katara. Uncle was probably right. He usually was. But it was so easy to just pretend he was too busy to see his friends, and Zuko was scared to see her again. Because the more he thought about what he'd done, the more he wanted to do it again.

Katara's skin had been so soft, and when she had leaned against him with that naughty little smile…

No, he couldn't think these things. He shook his head and got up from his desk to go take care of the slight problem that had come up while thinking of Katara. When he came back to his desk a while later, there was a letter on it. It was from Toph, who had taken up the role of Earth Kingdom Ambassador. Obviously she hadn't written it herself, but the tone was certainly hers, and she had clearly dictated the letter to the Fire Lord.

_Fire Lord Sparky-_

_Just finished meeting with Earth King Kuei, not much to report. I'll give you the boring details when I arrive on the Autumn Equinox. I don't want a big to do when I get there, but there had better be dinner-I miss the spice of the Fire Nation food! As much as I hate to admit it, I've missed you and Sweetness, as well. I've got a letter from Aang for you, and I've seen Sokka and Suki-they both say hey and wanted to tell you they'll be making their way to the Fire Nation next summer for the anniversary._

_See you soon, _

_Toph_

_Earth Kingdom Ambassador_

_Lord of Melons_

_Greatest Earthbender in the World_

The informality of it all made Zuko positive that it was actually from Toph, but then to top it all off, the letter ended with a thumbprint of mud- Toph's signature.

So she'd be back for the Autumn Equinox-that was today! Zuko groaned. He could no longer ignore Katara. Well, it was probably for the best. His uncle was right. He needed his friends, and Katara was probably the best of them. She'd probably like a little warning that they were having a welcoming feast for Toph tonight.

He sighed, checked his appearance in the mirror, secured his crown and headed off to find Katara.

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**Hope you enjoyed, please leave me reviews, I'll try to take suggestions into account!**


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